Lyons Meats - A Faribault Family Tradition Since 1959
Lyons Butcher House - 1965
Bill Lyons began his meat processing career on the family farm where at a very young age he helped with butchering livestock. He also butchered at the State Schools for many years prior to opening Lyons Meats.
In 1959, Bill and Norma opened Lyons Meats at their home east of town. The business started as a butcher shop where farmers could bring in their beef and hogs for processing. Soon the business was growing and several employees were hired. One of Bills long time employees was Todd Trump.
In 1974 Bill and Norma’s house burnt, and with the exception of the butcher shop, lost everything. After living in a detached garage for several months, which friends and neighbors built for temporary housing, a new house was re-built and business continued as usual.
Norma Lyons - Butcher Shop - 1970
As the business grew, so did Bill’s son David, who soon began taking a more active role in the operation of Lyons Meats. This meant Bill had more time for pursuing some of his hobbies; which in 1979 included purchasing a team of young oxen and building a covered wagon.
As Bill was wrestling with what to name his new pets, he conversed with his eldest grandson (Tim Lenway) on what he thought good names would be. Well, Tim at the ripe age of three chose to name the oxen after his favorite cat and mouse duo of Tom and Jerry. Needless to say, it stuck and the oxen team of Tom and Jerry became a household name as they traveled to numerous parades, fairs and festivals throughout southern Minnesota.
Dave Lyons With Oxen Team And Wagon
Bill tuned the reins of Lyons Meats over to Dave in 1987. In addition to developing new product lines, Dave and his wife Lori expanded the business into a full service catering operation, specializing in BBQ ribs and roast pork.
To continue with family tradition, all three of Bills older grandsons (Tim, Joe and Chad Lenway) all worked at Lyons Meats at various times over the years. Scott Trump (son of Todd Trump) also began working at Lyons Meats and eventually assisted Dave and Lori in opening the downtown retail store on 4th street in 1997.
In 1998, David felt a call to a new direction in life and began a new chapter as he and his family decided to move to Seward, Nebraska where he began pursuing a career in Pastoral Ministry at Concordia University. The Lyons Meats processing shop east of town was closed and the retail shop on 4th street was sold to Scott Trump.
Hog Roast served by Bill Lyons and Todd Trump
After battling with years of diabetes, Bill Lyons passed away in early 2000. His comical stubbornness and sense of humor is missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Scott and his wife Christina continued to operate Lyons Meats until September 2008, at which time they joined Scott’s dad Todd to run the family owned orchard business that was started by Scott’s grandfather Herman Trump.
Scott sold Lyons Meats to Bill Lyon’s oldest grandson Tim Lenway in October 2008. Tim, along with wife Molly and two brothers Joe and Chad will continue to uphold and advance the tradition of Lyons Meats that has been a staple in Faribault for nearly five decades.
